The owners of a Bangladeshi factory, Tazreen Fashions, where a fire killed 112 workers in late 2012, surrendered to the police on Sunday and are expected to face trial on charges of negligence.
Justice has often been delayed and denied in Bangladesh. It has been particularly out of reach for workers in the country’s powerful garment industry, which employs about four million workers and sells billions of dollars of clothes to Western retailers like Walmart, Gap and H&M.
The industry has an abysmal safety record. Fires in factories have killed hundreds of garment workers in Bangladesh in recent years. Yet legal experts say the owner of Tazreen, Delowar Hossain and his wife, Mahmuda Akther, who was also a director at the company, may be the first executives in the country to be charged with a crime related to a factory fire. Another group of executives linked to Rana Plaza, a building that collapsed in April 2013 and killed more than 1,100 workers, have also been arrested and are awaiting a trial that is expected to begin this year.
Initially, the police in Bangladesh said that they did not have enough evidence to bring a case against Mr. Hossain. But a court ordered officials to investigate further after human rights activists filed a lawsuit. That investigation found that managers closed doors to prevent workers from escaping and determined that none of the factory’s fire extinguishers had been used. Witnesses also said many workers died because the factory’s windows were covered by iron grilles, which are often installed by owners to deter theft even though they pose a grave safety risk. Mr. Hossain has denied any responsibility and said he plans to plead not guilty.
That Mr. Hossain and Ms. Akther are in police custody shows progress. But it’s just one step in what is sure to be a long process. The government must now conduct a fair and speedy trial.
Source: The New York Times
